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30 Jan 2012

Monday funnies

5 comments:

Well, it would be helpful if Dr. Zetland knew what he was posting about. Below is a comment I obtained from an L.A. City Prosecutor on the actual fine meted out in California for possession of pot.

COMMENTThe crime is possession of less than an ounce (Health and Safety Code Section 11357b). if I recall correctly, the maximum sentence is a fine of $100.00 (plus penalty assessment). The weird thing is that the crime is classified as a misdemeanor which means one is entitled to a jury trial. This is another clever way to decriminalize something. I don't believe that in my entire career I was ever made aware of an actual trial involving this charge. The time and cost of conducting a jury trial simply is not worth a maximum sentence of a $100 fine. They should make possession of less than an ounce an infraction, but they won't.

@both of you -- The cartoon is not supposed to represent California. Look up "asset forfeiture" if you need to find examples of heavy financial penalties. Oh, and look before you leap -- I've been following drug policy for 8 years now...

Well, I called a City Prosecutor again and asked if mere possession leads to asset forfeitures. He stated that he knew NO agencies, state, local or Federal, that seized assets for mere possession of marijuana.

Please check your facts.

I do not favor asset forfeitures but they just do not happen for pot possession.

@PP -- you should know better than to base your opinion on a single data point (or "AFAIK"). Here:

"In September 2007, Chris Hunt was driving on I-75 through central Georgia on his way to see his mother in his hometown of Dublin. Lamar County sheriffs stopped Hunt, who owns a car detailing business, for speeding. Officers say they smelled burnt marijuana and alcohol in the car, discovered marijuana on the floor, and noted that Hunt had bloodshot eyes, all claims that Hunt denies. Upon finding $5,581, officers confiscated the cash over Hunt’s protests. He said the money was the weekend’s profits from his shop."